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PoE 2 Build

[0.5] Flame Breathing Smith of Kitava

0.4 TLotD

End Game

Creator

Warrior

Smith of Kitava

By PaintMasterPoE

Updated on May 27, 2026

May 27, 2026

Build Overview

Update for 0.5 (May 26)

Changes:

Flame Breath now has an Energy Gain penalty similar to Incinerate. It's hidden modifier you can find on Incinerate poe2db page. It's 98% reduced Energy Gain, which is a lot, but still should be fine, considering that Cast on Elemental Ailment and Boundless Energy II together have 117% increased Energy Gain
Rend had bug where it scaled twice if Lightning-Charged, so base Damage was buffed to compensate that fix
Gearing and Skills are same, Supports and Socketables might change with all new stuff added
Plus some of new Uniques will be useful, and those 60+ Runes we can get from destroying Uniques to get one of their mod as Rune
From parts of tree we've seen in recent GGG videos, tree seems to be very similar, so it shouldn't change much
Crown of Eyes is under level 55, so it can be upgraded with new Runeforge system upgrading it's base to get more ES
Cast on Elemental Ailment with Comet will likely have to be dropped
Before 0.5, Leech wasn't limited to 1 stack, and this build was hitting insane amount of times with Flame Breath and getting insane amount of Mana Leech instances allowing to sustain Mana for crazy trigger rate of Comet
So most likely it will be just Fire Spell on Hit since it cost no Mana, basically like Low Budget setup. Unless i find way to solve Mana sustain to bring back Comet

About Leech in 0.5

Build use Soul Tether to get ES Leech, so normally when you hit something when your Life isn't full, Leech will start, fill your Life and then apply remaining recovery to ES
But if you hit something with full Life, Leech will not apply to ES because your Life is full
To fix that, build used old Fast Metabolism that caused Leech not be removed on Full Life, so you could get ES Leech from Soul Tether even on Full Life
But now that Leech is limited to 1 stack, if your skill cost Life, you will not need Fast Metabolism, because before each use of skill you will spend Life on it and then get that Leech stack that will apply to ES
Aside of that Fast Metabolism no longer grant "Leech is not removed on Full Life" and now Vaal Pact does it, but it's out of reach for this build, unless Flesh Crucible is used
So now we probably take Blood Magic

Higher Budget setup added! Short Clip - T17 Iron Citadel Boss

Useful links

Low Budget Gear Crafting Guide
Making currency as New Player plus general recommendations and tips

About Build

Chill clearing with Rend that hit like a truck, has huge AoE, and just nice to use
Flame Breath that destroys bosses while triggering insane number of Fireballs andLiving Bombs
Solid 8-10k ES pool, with option to get more with slightly different tree
To scale both Attack and Spell Damage i used Crown of Eyes, which makes increases to Spell Damage also increase Attack Damage
IMPORTANT: Only "Increased Spell Damage" works, not "More Spell Damage".
Then there's really strong passive Mystical Rage, which give 2% Spell Damage per Rage, which also give 2% Attack Damage per Rage, build get around 52 to 64 Rage, so that's roughly 120% Spell/Attack Damage
Yoke of Suffering works for Spells and Attacks at same time. So as long as you apply Chill, Shock and Ignite, which is kinda easy, you basically get around ~55% More Damage from this amulet which is similar amount to +4 Levels
To make mapping easier i use Soul Tether, but not regular one. In 0.4 you can modify this belt by using Vaal Cultivation Orb that has chance to replace "Lose 5% of Maximum Energy Shield per second" with different mod, making it have no drawbacks, and allowing to Leech Energy Shield

Leveling

I tried to level it from start with Fire Spell on Hit, which wasn't that great but doable, so i recommend going Wyvern normal way by taking Attack Damage Passives and later respec once you have required uniques, decent rares and like ~80 Level

Build doesn't require 8 Ascendancy Passives, 6 is enough to take Fire Spell on Hit and Resistance Passives

Quest Rewards

Venom Draught: Stun Threshold
Halls of the Dead: 5% Fire/Lightning/Cold Resists
Qimah: 15% ES, 3% Movespeed

Strengths and Weaknesses

Become actual Flame Breathing Dragon!
Fun looking Boss fights with entire screen covered in Fireballs, or insane amount of Comets at higher budget
8-10k ES with ES Leech
Mostly 1 button clearing with Rend, and sometimes Pounce for movement and Devour if out of Power Charges
One of coolest looking skills for Single Target DPS - Flame Breath
Have ability to use Ventor's Gamble or even Andvarius for Item Rarity
Easy to cap resists thanks to Coal Stoker as well as getting up to 82% max Resists with Forged in Flame

Not cheap, but not that expensive either, will be cheaper if you craft gear yourself

Build Variants

"Low Budget" Setup

[WiP] High Budget Setup (CoA Comet)

Equipment

"Low Budget" Setup

[WiP] High Budget Setup (CoA Comet)

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

+10

Lock your Weapon to both Weapon Sets by Rightclicking on Weapon Set icon above Weapon Slot!

Atleast 1 Source of Life Leech on Rings or Gloves!

Weapon

Initially i thought that Maji Talisman will be better than Jade Talisman because of that 8-12 Rage it provide, but no, Jade Talisman still provide More Damage with same mods simply because of it's base Damage being higher
How i crafted it:
1. Found Talisman with Hybrid %Phys/Accuracy Mod, Flat Phys, Empty Prefix and Attack speed
2. Used Desecrated Currency to add Prefix, took 1 Omen of Light to reveal %Phys Damage mod
3. Used Perfect Essence of Battle that add +5 Levels hoping it doesn't hit Attack Speed, and it Didn't
Basically you looking for highest DPS Talisman with +5 Levels, crafting likely will be cheaper
Saqawal's Rune of the Sky actually provide More Damage than Greater Iron Rune, but also used to get more Elemental Damage to have easier time apply Chill and Shock

Helmet

Fairly simple here, Crown of Eyes, preferably 2 sockets
Ideally 3 sockets which you can get by Chancing 2 Socket base of Vermeil Circlet, and then Corrupting it with chance to hit 3rd Socket
Tzamoto's Soul Core of Ferocity for +4 Max Rage, Soul Core of Tacati for Chaos Resistance

Body Armor

Vile Robe has highest amount of ES, preferably with Chaos Resistance. My armor has decent ES, but only 1 Resist, getting more would allow me to use second Ventor's Gamble, or boots with Item Rarity on Suffix
How i crafted it:
1. Found Vile Robe with Empty Prefix, %Energy Shield, Hybrid Flat ES/%ES and Chaos Resistance
2. Added Desecrated Prefix, revealed decent Flat ES with Omen of Echoes
3. Exalt Slams added Faster Recharge which is decent, and Attribute Requirements which is dead mod

Gloves

High Energy Shield, preferably Attack Speed and ideally some Fire Resistance if needed.
Soul Core of Puhuarte because on Smith of Kitava its +1% to All Max Elemental Resistances
How i crafted it:
1. This time it was easier to start from Magic Gloves with %Energy Shield or Flat Energy Shield and Attack Speed
2. Then used Fire Resistance Essence
3. Then added Desecrated Prefix with Omen, revealed decent Flat ES on second reroll with Omen of Echoes
4. Exalt slams got me Flat Fire Damage which is good, and attribute requirements which is dead mod

Boots

High Energy Shield with Movespeed, and any Resists you'll need
How i crafted it:
1. Start with Magic Boots with Flat Energy Shield and Fire or Chaos Resistance.
2. Use %Energy Shield Essence
3. Add Desecrated Prefix with Omen
4. Two Exalt Slams, ideally atleast 1 extra Resist
5. Reveal Prefix with Omen of Echoes and hope for Movespeed

Amulet

Yoke of Suffering is one of very few options to increase damage for both Attacks and Spells.
Can try Rare Amulet for more defensive setup with %ES, Flat ES, +# to Melee Skills, maybe Spirit, Global Defense from Essence, Spell Damage, etc

Rings

You have option to use two Ventor's Gamble rings as long as you have capped Resists
My current Rare Ring isn't that great, i'd rather have better Suffix than Leech Amount, and decent roll of Life would be good for higher Leech and Stun Threshold

Belt

Soul Tether that has to be corrupted first, then you have to use Vaal Cultivation Orb which replace 1-2 of random Modifiers with new modifiers that will have Red Color
Ideally it should replace "Lose 5% of Maximum Energy Shield per Second" with something else that isn't "Lose #% of Maximum Life per Second"
I was doing it myself, by also buying already corrupted Belt with +#% Maximum Fire Resistance, and it was cheaper. Currently it cost slightly more than 1 Div per attempt
Currently i have +2% Max Fire Res, while it can go up to 3%

Jewels

Heroic Tragedy (Vorana version) is fairly good option to get more Energy Shield by getting Keystone called Black Scythe Training which grant 1% Energy Shield per 2 Strength, which in my case give me ~70% Energy Shield
Flesh Crucible with Vaal Pact in endgame, but not sure it will be needed now that Leech is limited to 1 stack
From Nothing (Scarred Faith) allow to allocate Wasting Casts and Lasting Incantations with normal passives and Total Incineration with Focused Channel with weapon set 2 passives
Heart of the Well has many good mods, i'd prioritize getting Extra Cold Damage to help with applying Chill, also Fire or/and All Maximum Elemental Resistances

Charms

Ngamahu's Chosen sometimes will give you max rage when you take fire damage, kinda useful
Sanguis Heroum against bleeding
Thawing Charm against freeze, or its Unique version - Nascent Hope

Flasks

Important to get Mana Flask with %Increased Charges mod for Ambrosia on Flame Breath, at ~125 Charges you get ~35% Extra Lightning Damage

Skill Gems

"Low Budget" Setup

[WiP] High Budget Setup (CoA Comet)

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 100

Dex 40

Int 95

Rend

Set 1

Flame Breath

Set 2

Devour

Set 1

Pounce

Set 1

Lunar Assault

Set 1

Fire Spell on Hit

Manifest Weapon

Herald of Ash

Arctic Howl

Lingering Illusion

War Banner

Gem Priority

+40

Green outline - weapon set 2 only, Pink outline - weapon set 1 only.

Notes

Mostly you clear with Rend, also used as Rage Generator with Attack Speed supports and Life Leech
For Fire Spell on Hit there's unfortunately very few thing you can possibly put there, and only Fireball with Living Bomb actually do some damage.
What i also discovered, you can put Elemental Weakness into Fire Spell on Hit, and even if it cast it like 10 times per second on boss, you still have that curse up. Which normally is impossible because you can't use curses with Talisman.
And sadly even with investment into Spell/Fire Damage, Fireball and Living Bomb don't really do much damage relative to Flame Breath.
Fire Spell on Hit need even more buffs to make it actually viable as your main damage source, rather than secondary skill. While buff it received in 0.4 its good start.
Manifest Weapon feels like trolling by GGG by how useless this ascendancy skill is, but there's simply nothing else to use, so atleast that useless minion with no damage can inflict Maim.
Flame Breath use Ambrosia, and its really good there, because it proc only once for entire duration of Flame Breath channeling. So maybe Ambrosia II is better in this case, it give more damage but eat more charges. While with good gear bosses usually die to 1 use of Flame Breathunless you get interrupted.
Devour used for Power Charge generation if needed.
Pounce for Movement and to apply Mark.
Ferocious Roar used with Echoing Cry and Raging Cry to quickly generate rage on Boss, unsure about Infernal Cry.
Lingering Illusion used for Power Charge generation on Bosses.
Overwhelming Presence reduce enemy Stun/Ailment Threshold, so Bosses get Heavy Stunned faster and its easier to apply Ailments. Also should make you trigger more Fire Spell on Hit.

Passive Tree

"Low Budget" Setup

[WiP] High Budget Setup (CoA Comet)

main:

123

set 1:

set 2:

Weapon Set 1 used with more AoE and Attack Speed to make clearing faster.

Weapon Set 2 used with more Fire Damage for Flame Breath

Quest Rewards

Check which quests you’ve completed on your character

Clearfell — Beira of the Rotten Pack

Not Specified1 choice

Hunting Grounds — The Crowbell

Not Specified1 choice

Freythorn — The King in the Mists

Not Specified1 choice

Ogham Farmlands — Una's Hut

Not Specified1 choice

Ogham Manor — Candlemass, the Living Rite

Not Specified1 choice

Keth — Kabala, Constrictor Queen

Not Specified1 choice

Valley of the Titans — Medallion

Not Specified2 choices

Deshar — Final Letter

Not Specified1 choice

The Spires of Deshar — Sisters of Garukhan

Not Specified1 choice

Jungle Ruins — Mighty Silverfist

Not Specified1 choice

The Venom Crypts — Venom Draught

Not Specified3 choices

Jiquani's Machinarium — Blackjaw, the Remnant

Not Specified1 choice

The Azak Bog — Ignagduk, the Bog Witch

Not Specified1 choice

The Molten Vault — The Molten Vault

Not Specified1 choice

Aggorat — Blood Sacrifice

Not Specified1 choice

Journey's End — Captain Hartlin

Not Specified1 choice

Eye of Hinekora — Navali's Rest

Not Specified1 choice

Halls of the Dead — Yama The White

Not Specified1 choice

Halls of the Dead — Tawhoa's Test

Not Specified2 choices

Abandoned Prison — Goddess of Justice

Not Specified2 choices

Halls of the Dead — Tasalio's Test

Not Specified2 choices

Halls of the Dead — Ngamahu's Test

Not Specified2 choices

Wolvenhold — Oswin, the Dread Warden

Not Specified1 choice

The Khari Crossing — Akthi and Anundr

Not Specified1 choice

The Khari Crossing — Molten Shrine

Not Specified1 choice

Qimah — Tabana's Pillar

Not Specified7 choices

Kriar Village — Lythara, the Wayward Spear

Not Specified1 choice

Howling Caves — The Abominable Yeti

Not Specified1 choice

How it Plays

Clearing

Rend
Devour to get Power Charges for Rend when needed
Flame Breath can be used sometimes on rares, but it's too slow and sometimes risky to use

Boss

Start with Arctic Howl to quickly get Rage
Place War Banner
Hit couple times with Rend or Lunar Assault to apply Chill
You can use Dodgeroll few times to make boss hit Lingering Illusion to get Power Charge
But damage is good enough without doing that, so then just use Flame Breath